Dis-United Kingdom General Election campaign officially kicks off

My word!  He must be terrified of the Scots!

lily wrote:.......which in turn make the elite feel that much more wealthy.  I mean come on, how awful that they had to mix with so many of 'those' people before.

Exactly, Lily. This isn't about 'Left' or 'Right', it went beyond that long ago. Those at the top may be favouring the huge multi-nationals, but they are destroying all those small businesses that are the backbone of the economy - and of many communities.

Sabot wrote:I think I probably know a bit more about food banks than most.  I used one here in France for a while.  But then The British State Pension is considered to be a joke here.

It was his disgusting attitude that made me feel ill.  But these places have to be supported somehow because they are necessary to some people, so where the money comes from is irrelevant.

My point being that if Labour can afford it after the election then they can bloody well afford it now.

Apologies, Sabot, picked you up wrong.

Thing is, they weren't necessary a few years ago, so you have thought it might have dawned on all the 'experts' by now that they are doing something very, very wrong.

They don't care, Bonny. They have no idea how ordinary people live. They think the poverty stricken are spending their money on booze and fags. The poor aren't entitled to any pleasure at all.

I don't really know what is going on in UK anymore because I haven't been there for some time, but I have always been border line poverty stricken for some reason or another, even if I was paying Boarding School Fees at one point. Raising that was no joke on what I earned.
I used to buy two dozen clapped out battery hens, gut and pluck them and chuck them in the second hand freezer.
I actually bought my first ever new fridge this year, and then had to cut back on everything else to pay for it.
But I have always had to manage so it has become second nature to me, and no longer very difficult. I drive a crap van. I buy sell by date food. I wear more clothes in Winter, a large amount of which I get given. Everything I do is designed around not wasting anything.

No, I don't feel particularly hard done by, in fact it's quite good fun sometimes.

http://news.sky.com/story/1471309/hsbc-launches-immediate-review-of-uk-base


HSBC Launches Immediate Review Of UK Base
The bank confirms a Sky News report that it is looking into whether to move its main base out of the country.

Quote:

Prior to the banking crisis, HSBC undertook a review of its domicile every three years, but has not done so in recent times because of the shifting regulatory landscape.

Under UK Government reforms, universal banks such as HSBC and Barclays will have to erect a firewall between their high street and investment banking operations by 2019 in order to insulate taxpayers and customers in the event of a future financial crisis.

Chancellor George Osborne recently said that the Bank Levy, introduced in 2010, was now regarded as a permanent fixture of the tax system, while Labour has pledged to raise an additional £800m-a-year from the levy to fund its childcare plans.

HSBC executives are also concerned that the ring-fencing structure will diminish its ability to exert influence over its UK bank, according to insiders.

Following HSBC's announcement, Standard Chartered - the London-listed, Asia-focused bank - said it was "listening very carefully" to its investors' views on its UK HQ because of tax risks but insisted it had no current plans to move.


Terrible, isn't it, when multi-nationals and big businesses try to use blackmail to interfere in elections?

If anyone wants to see a smear born and lies told, by SLab as usual, I recommend this tale of twitter wrongdoing:

http://wingsoverscotland.com/a-serious-case-of-hypocrisy/#comments

Kezia Dugdale of SLab both lied and smeared yesterday, mainly for the benefit of the Daily Mail, only for it all to come apart in her hands.

The last minute or so of the video:



https://youtu.be/_Q7ajGqn-Kw

is an absolute gem, in which Ms Dugdale Gets Telt by Nicola Sturgeon. The look on her face after being Telt is...magical.

http://bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk/index.php/city-news/930-labour-in-scotlandshire-to-launch-new-committee-on-satirical-activities.html

Bringing you ludicrous, spurious and ill-conceived Scottish stories from Atlantic Quay.
Any similarity to other terminally biased national broadcasters is entirely unfortunate.

Labour in Scotlandshire to launch new Committee On Satirical Activities
Thursday, 23 April 2015 20:49 | PDF | Print | E-mail
By Lass Ditch, our Faux Outrage Correspondent



Kezia Dugdale in FMQs suddenly realises what she has just done

I have NO idea what she was thinking - possibly that BBC Scotlandshire was a genuine BBC site?

Now this is something that I know a little about.  I had an account at HSBC in Jersey for twenty years, mostly to receive my pathetic annuity of 64 Pounds a quarter, although it was useful if I had to bank a Sterling cheque on rare occasions.  My bank here won't receive Sterling cheques of less than 100 Pounds.  So hardly money laundering.

They informed me three months ago that they were closing my account because I wasn't a resident.  Fair enough, you can't argue with that.

I tried to open an account at HSBC in Totnes, but they say that I can't prove who I am.  End of that one.  Although I did receive a phone call from a real person, and she was polite about it.

I have now lost what little connection that I had to UK.  No worries, the interest was crap anyway.  But I can't help feeling that it was because I am not rich.
But if I ever win The Lottery then I will bank it in France where at least you get interest that amounts to a bit more than 1%.  A lot more, actually.

Bye bye UK. I was a teensy bit sad about it, but there you go.

Are any of the so-called 'British banks' actually British any more, Sabot? Most of them are owned by overseas megabanks. The only one I can think of that is genuinely home-owned is the Airdrie Savings Bank, a lone survivor of more sensible days.

There may be other small local banks in England, of course, but most of them are just multi-nationals that have little interest in ordinary customers as they are too busy shifting ones and zeros around on screens, getting involved with dodgy hedge funds, spending all their customers' money on cocaine, hookers and rent boys, etc.

bb1 wrote:If anyone wants to see a smear born and lies told, by SLab as usual, I recommend this tale of twitter wrongdoing:

http://wingsoverscotland.com/a-serious-case-of-hypocrisy/#comments

Kezia Dugdale of SLab both lied and smeared yesterday, mainly for the benefit of the Daily Mail, only for it all to come apart in her hands.

The last minute or so of the video:



https://youtu.be/_Q7ajGqn-Kw

is an absolute gem, in which Ms Dugdale Gets Telt by Nicola Sturgeon. The look on her face after being Telt is...magical.

Bloody Hell, that was amazing. And she wasn't just half telt. The look on her face was classic. I am going to have to have another look at that.

bb1 wrote:Are any of the so-called 'British banks' actually British any more, Sabot? Most of them are owned by overseas megabanks. The only one I can think of that is genuinely home-owned is the Airdrie Savings Bank, a lone survivor of more sensible days.

There may be other small local banks in England, of course, but most of them are just multi-nationals that have little interest in ordinary customers as they are too busy shifting ones and zeros around on screens, getting involved with dodgy hedge funds, spending all their customers' money on cocaine, hookers and rent boys, etc.

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about that. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. I banked with them in Singapore. Perhaps I should have mentioned that.

That's truly a classic image of what happens when you tell lies in the Scottish Parliament and get Telt by the First Minister.

That has cheered me up no end. It will stand me in good stead in my present mood. I shall keep my mouth shut. I could never even hope to be as good as Nicola Sturgeon. And all off the cuff.

I bank with the Nationwide Building Society, and I remember the members seeing off two attempts by 'carpetbaggers' to demutalize it in the 1980-1990 period and and another try in 2001, all failed. I used to bank with Barclays as well but left as I did not feel secure with them. I am very happy with them, their call center is based in the UK and they are very helpful. LL

Ah yes, LL, Nationwide is indeed genuinely British:

Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution and the largest building society in the world. It has its headquarters in Swindon, with an office in Threadneedle Street, London, and with administration centres based in Bournemouth, Northampton and Dunfermline.

Made up of over a hundred mergers — most notably the merger between Nationwide and the Anglia Building Society in 1987 and between Nationwide and Portman in 2007 — it is now a top-three provider of household savings and mortgages in the UK.

Nationwide has assets of around £193.3 billion[1] compared to £325 billion for the entire building society sector,[2] making it larger than the remaining 44 British building societies combined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_in_the_United_Kingdom

Many of these are just a small fraction of the size of the smallest of the banks in the table above. These include:

Airdrie Savings Bank
Aldermore
Arbuthnot Latham
C. Hoare & Co
CAF Bank (a bank for charities provided by Charities Aid Foundation)
Charity Bank (a bank which is also a charity and supports other charities)
Close Brothers Group
Duncan Lawrie Bank
Julian Hodge Bank
N M Rothschild & Sons
Metro Bank UK
Raphaels Bank
Secure Trust Bank
Unity Trust Bank (a bank supporting social enterprise)
Weatherbys

They are all a bit out of my class, alas - apart perhaps for the Airdrie Savings Bank.....

Banque Populaire Atlantique. Quite a small bank actually, but they have done well by me. I got out of Credit Agricole when they charged me 150 Euros for bouncing a cheque ten minutes before 2,000 Euros went in.
Outgoings first and incomings after. Most people don't know that. And that was after having had an account with Credit Agricole for five years and never being overdrawn.

But France doesn't mess about. None of this bounced cheque lark. That's it. Bank cards and cheque books are withdrawn. I barely escaped that because I kicked up a stink. But she was legally right. I physically wrote a cheque when the money to cover it wasn't actually there in my account.

Getting your account out of one French and into another French Bank is another story. You have to give them three months notice. But you never have to worry if someone bounces a cheque on you. You will get your money, or else. So a lesson well learned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-32447072

Labour suspends candidate Sumon Hoque suspended over drink-driving charge
3 hours ago
From the section NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland
A Labour general election candidate has been suspended after appearing in court charged with drink-driving.
Sumon Hoque, 32, who is standing in the Banff and Buchan constituency, is also accused of driving a car with no MOT and without a licence.
Mr Hoque, of Aberdeen, denied the charges at the city's sheriff court.
The offences are alleged to have happened in Aberdeen's Bridge Street in May last year. The case is due to go to trial next month.
A Scottish Labour statement said: "Sumon Hoque has been suspended from representing the Labour Party and we have, therefore, withdrawn support from him as the general election candidate."

Oops. That's one seat they definitely won't be winning, as they now have no candidate.....

Soon as anyone calls themselves a 'proudScotbut', you know they're a Unionist.

As for Brown, maker of The Vow -

Ah but, lassie, remember Brown's a son o' the manse so he's pure as driven sh*t!!!!

You know Labour's in trouble when they drag him out. He isn't even standing, for starters. So successful has he been as a 'mere' MP that:


1. The MoD have repeatedly ignored his requests that they clean their radioactive waste off a local beach.

2. Tesco completely ignored his demands that they keep a local store open and shut it anyway.

IMO, it's always been smoke and mirrors with Brown - this 'son of the manse' business was just a cover for total incompetence.

Can anyone think of one thing that Brown has got right? One decision that has proven correct in the long term? Just one thing that has made things better? Because I certainly can't.

I am amazed he has the nerve to show his face (albeit to carefully vetted audiences, not the public) after Cameron tore Brown's Vow to shreds only a few hours after the referendum.

This is the Sun's idea of 'political comment':

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ironic-juxtaposition/



It is, frankly, disgusting.

I don't see the Union surviving, not because of anything the SNP do, or don't do, but because of this endless sexist, racist abuse from the Sun and Mail, and from a good few Westminster politicians.

They've taken their masks off, and NOTHING has changed in hundreds of years. I have little doubt they would deport us all in chains to plantations, if they still had any colonies.

Incidentally, apart from the Westminster politicians, the leaders of the internet anti-SNP campaign seem to consist of only a couple of people.

One is that George Laird of Glasgow University loony, so beloved of the haters because he also hates Gerry McCann.

The other is some peculiar woman, going by the psuedonym of 'Effie Deans'. Her contributions have mainly consisted of announcing that there is no such country as Scotland, and inventing a bizarre Wheel which is supposed to tell people how to tactically vote. Naturally, this has caused much mockery and laughter, and she was last seen getting all teary cos her Wheel had been laughed at.

There is no wit, satire, songs, imagery, nothing - it's all at the same level as the Mail and Sun.

Oh Lord, just look at that, he looks as if he thinks the flag is infectious, or something. Ah, I forgot, Westminster thinks St George's Crosses are 'common'.